11/10/05 (Mindanao News) - THE Mindanao Economic Development Council(MEDCO) has started consultations with local chief executives on theMalaysian-backed development of palm oil areas in Mindanao.

In the meeting on the consolidation of palm oil areas at MEDCO, eightprovinces identified as palm oil potential areas aired their views on theproposal while two local governments committed hectares of land to theproject.

According to Presidential Assistant for Mindanao Jesus P. Dureza, themeeting was called in order to iron out issues and concerns on palm oilplanting which has long been existent in the vast tracks of land in SultanKudarat, Agusan del Sur and Cotabato Province.

Dureza said Malaysia expressed willingness to invest in Mindanao throughthe Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia- Philippines - East ASEAN GrowthArea (BIMP-EAGA) economic cooperation provided that arrangements on landownership will have to be dealt with accordingly by the government.

Dureza said Malaysians are extra careful this time due to the stalled palmoil plantation development of Janoub Philippine Development Corporationand Malaysian Tabung Hajj Corporation in Lanao del Sur.

"The idea actually of palm oil plantation is not the conversion of cropsbut the utilization of idle lands," he said.

Jose Abad Santos Mayor Alexander Wangkay and Impasugong Mayor MarioOkinlay both offered hectares of their land to the palm oil development.

Wangkay said he could commit 6,000 hectares in the border of hismunicipality and Sarangani Province. Okinlay said that 8,000 hectares ofidle land in Impasugong may also be utilized for palm oil plantation.

But for Sarangani Governor Migs Dominguez, a lot of queries need to beaddressed before they can pin-point specific areas for palm oil.

He said a criteria on how to choose a land should be made first in orderfor them to choose precise and suitable land areas. Dominguez alsoinquired about the source of financing for the program.

Zamboanga-Sibugay, the newly created province from Zamboanga del Sur isalso not all out with the idea mainly because most of the idle lands intheir province are owned by Indigenous Peoples. RPA